Karma's a Witch
by Cunning and Ambition
Summary: When Draco Malfoy goes back to teach at Hogwarts, he gets more than he bargained for.  His children aren't who he thought, and Binns isn't teaching History of Magic anymore. Next Gen. Dramione. EWE. M for later chapters
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned in her books! For the sake of this, we're going to pretend that Teddy and Victoire are in Scorpius, Albus, and Rose's year. Oh, and Sirius Black lived to have some kids too._

_If he had kids at about 40ish, his kids would be Harry's age. Woah, right? James was born sometime between 2002-2005. We're going with 2002. _

Draco Malfoy didn't think twice when he was offered the post of Potions Professor after Slughorn passed away. Actually, he welcomed it for multiple reasons. His career at the Ministry was immensely unfulfilling, and it was affecting his life at home. His children stayed at a distance, and more than one bottle of firewhiskey had disappeared in the last month. He needed to do something worthwhile. Though he would never admit to it, Draco wanted to atone for his bad in the war. The faint outline of the Dark Mark still haunted him because what had he done different? He was making good money, like a good Malfoy, but he was stepping all over Mr. and Mrs. Average Joe to do it. Teaching students could give him a sense of fulfillment that he wasn't accustomed to.

But, perhaps, most importantly, Draco could keep an eye on his often unruly children. The eldest was Scorpius Malfoy, mothered by none other than Draco's ex-wife, Astoria Greengrass. She had been a lovely woman until she tied the knot. When he had found out she was cheating on him with his coworker, well, the marriage had terminated abruptly. Until Scorpius turned seventeen, he split his time between his parents fairly evenly. At the age of seventeen, he moved in with Draco permanently, bar his time at Hogwarts.

Then there was his daughter, Merlin help him. Her name was Gemini, and her mother was Pansy Parkinson. Thank the gods she got off on the right side of the gene pool, though. The pug face was nowhere to be seen, only the silky black hair. Pansy Parkinson had handed her right over to Draco the week after Gemini had been born and run into the arms of one Blaise Zabini. She got in a bit of trouble, but she was a decent kid. Same with Scorpius, really. Both were Slytherins, thank Circe for small blessings in the Malfoy household.

"I'm leaving , father," Scorpius announced, his trunk and owl cage in hand. Draco actually hadn't mentioned to his children about his new job. It was a surprise. Sure. It certainly wasn't because Draco Malfoy was afraid of his own children. Not a chance. They would find out at the Welcome Feast tonight.

"Congratulations on getting Head Boy," Draco said for the umpteenth time. But what could he give Scorpius? The kid never wanted for anything, neither did Gemini, as a matter of fact. "Granger's daughter Head Girl?"

"Who, Weaslette?" Scorpius asked, rolling his eyes. "And 'sides, she's Weasley now, Dad," he laughed, shrugging. Draco just shrugged. "I'm leaving," he repeated again, impatiently.

"Yeah, fine," Draco agreed. "Take your sister with you," he instructed. Gemini came bounding down the stairs in an outfit she would most certainly be changing in the bathroom outside of Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Much to Draco's chagrin, Gemini had developed a penchant for Muggle clothing and was currently wearing a pair of jeans and a tank top. "Isn't that a little low cut?" he asked, and Scorpius snorted. Oh, if only Draco knew.

"Sorry, dad," Gemini apologized, pulling it up quickly with a smile and slipping on a pair of heels. Draco just shook his head at that. Girls would be girls, or something like that, Draco assumed.

"So are you going to be Head next year?" Draco asked, arching an eyebrow at Gemini. The young woman simply laughed.

"No. In case you haven't noticed, Dad. I'm the family Quidditch player. I don't have time to study like Scorpius does. Just like Scorpius doesn't have time to learn how to handle a broom," she smirked. Her brother fixed a glare on her.

"Yes, your ability to handle a _broom_ is absolutely legendary, Gem," Scorpius muttered, rolling his eyes once again. Honestly, it was a wonder they didn't just get stuck like that one of these days. Gemini gave him a _What, me? _ look and shrugged her shoulders.

Draco either missed or completely ignored the innuendo, his children weren't sure, but they were thankful none the less. Gemini took out her wand, gripped it in a firm grasp and left the door, her cat mewling pitifully from her cage.

"Sorry, Bast!" she apologized immediately, going back for the still kitten-sized cat she had been given as a birthday present at six. She picked up the cage, grabbed her trunk, and sauntered out the door without a second glance as her father gave one more half-hearted goodbye.

"See you, dad," Scorpius smirked before too leaving, walking straight onto the platform and into an entirely new life he had made for himself. "Oi, Albus!" he called, waving to his best friend. Suddenly, he felt someone rather small collide with his back.

"Lucy, honestly," her cousin, Rose, said. "Scorpius doesn't need to give a shrimp like you a piggy back ride." Scorpius grinned, completely ignoring the first-year sized fifth-year on his back. He turned to Rose and looked around for her parents. "Come on, Romeo. I told you that you weren't allowed to avoid it."

"Alright," Scorpius agreed. It wasn't like he didn't see her parents all the time, but it always made him nervous. Especially since Ron had made it abundantly clear that he didn't so much despise Scoprius, but heartily unapproved of the fact that Scorpius was dating his daughter. Lucy jumped off his back. So, maybe when Scorpius said he was going to Diagon Alley or 'out' he was really going to be with the Weasleys or Potters to be with his real friends.

He smirked, snaking an arm around Rose's waist and kissing her once, eyes falling on Gemini as she came in. Yep, she changed. Her jeans were nowhere to be seen, replaced by shorts that fell uncomfortably above her knee. Gemini knew she had killer legs. She wasn't exactly busty, so she never really wore anything particularly low cut, but her shirt showed about an inch of skin between her top and shorts.

Scorpius was done trying to worry about Gemini. She could take care of herself and her 'slut' reputation. Rumors never were good to her. She had never even had sex! She just had…fun. More fun than was probably appropriate, but what else was there to do at Hogwarts?

"Good morning," Scorpius greeted Hermione and Ron. Hermione smiled and, as usual, pulled Scorpius into a hug, but Ron just offered to shake his hand.

"We didn't see a lot of you this summer," Hermione noted, and Scorpius flushed a little at that.

"I spent a little bit of time out of town with my mum," he explained. "Went to Italy. It was nice, but my mother and I don't really get along," he explained, frowning a bit.

"Well," Rose interrupted quickly, "it's time to get on the train. We're Heads, after all. We should go talk to all the prefects," she explained, lacing her fingers through Scorpius's and tugging him to the train.

"You're not going to tell them you're the new History of Magic professor?" Ron asked, looking at his wife curiously. Hermione's face hardened, and she glared at him. The divorce papers still needed to be settled. How would they break _that_ to their kids?

"You're not going to tell them about the woman you had in my bed?" she spat in response, turning on her heel and storming through the barrier between the platforms, apparating to Harry and Ginny's. She'd use their floo instead when the time came.

Gemini grinned when she saw her best friend. "Vega!" she exclaimed, running and hugging the girl. "Listen, Black," she said with false severity, "we should have hung out a hell of a lot more this summer," she insisted.

"Not my fault," Vega protested, holding up her hands in protest. "You know my dad would flip if I suggested going to your house. Besides, your father would lose his mind too." Her twin brother stood some ways away, chatting up a cute blonde. "Antares wouldn't have liked the idea, either." Gemini rolled her eyes at the thought of Vega's twin. Very much his father and very much unhappy with Vega's friendship with a Malfoy.

"Oh, right. Our parents still act like children. And your brother's been brainwashed," Gemini hissed, crossing her arms.

"Watch it, Malfoy," Antares suggested, walking up to see what was going on. "You look like a cheap whore. How much an hour?" he smirked.

"More than you'll ever see, Black." She flipped her hair and stalked onto the train, sitting down in a compartment. She wasn't as close to the Weasley-Potter clan as Scorpius, but she was close to Vega, so she ended up spending a good deal of time with the lot of them

The compartment was large enough, but with everyone there it was clearly cramped. It was nice though. You didn't have to pretend to be someone else when your parents weren't watching. Scorpius could pull Rose into his lap while playing exploding snap with his best friend, Albus. Gemini could wear what she wanted and talk to the daughter of Sirius Black.

Malfoys, Potters, Weasleys, Blacks; Gryffindor, Hufflepuffs, Slytherins, and Ravenclaws. There was unity, and it was something to be celebrated, not hidden from their parents. However, old prejudices could hang on longer than any child was ready to deal with, so they kept it quiet over the summer, and they waited for school when there were no rules of propriety in who they could speak to.

There were still secrets. There always would be. Lily still looked at Scorpius like he hung the moon when Rose wasn't watching. Victoire still slipped Teddy a love potion every now and again to keep him interested. Antares still looked at his second cousin's legs a little too intently while she talked to his sister. What? His father's parents had been first cousins! Victoire didn't _need_ the love potion. Lily would never hurt Rose by _doing_ anything. Everyone could justify their transgressions.

The hours passed on as they always seemed to; some in silence, others chatting animatedly about summer stories, perhaps stretching them a little. Soon enough, the train ground to a slow halt and the firsties were the quickest to scramble off the train, eager to get to Hogwarts.

Upon entering the Great Hall, they began to split their separate ways to their respective tables, not paying attention to the new teachers until Headmaster Longbottom called their attention after the sorting.

Draco was going to have a heart attack. He had been here for, what? Less than an hour, and he was already in shock. Firstly, he had been greeted by the sight of his son snogging _Rose Weasley_ in the hallway, none to gently. Then he saw his daughter parade into the Great Hall looking rather like some sort of tramp, making eyes at every boy who looked her way, and he immediately turned red. There would be words on this sort of…outfit and promiscuity later. Then, as if that wasn't enough! He looked over and, instead of Binns the Ghost, he found Hermione the Know it All was teaching History of Magic this year. Merlin, help him. This was karma at her finest. Surely, one of his children had acquired a white ferret for a pet while they were at it!

"I would like to introduce you all to our new Potions master, Professor Malfoy and our new History of Magic professor, Miss Hermione Granger."

_Silence_.

_Chaos._

"Why did he call her Granger?" Hugo asked his elder sister.

"Her and dad are divorcing, idiot. Haven't you heard them yelling at night?"

"What the hell is he doing here?" Gemini asked Scorpius, eyes wide.

"Teaching."

"Shit."

"I'm having a nightmare. This isn't right."

"Scor, he's glaring at us!"

"Gonna have a tough time shagging your boy-toy, Rose."

Well, this called for a pow-wow in the Room of Requirement if anything did. And, without hesitating, Gemini and Scorpius stood and left the Great Hall. If they got out now, they could avoid him until Potions tomorrow. Everyone from their compartment trickled out of the Great Hall as dinner started, all entering the Room of Requirement.

"I'm screwed," Gemini announced, falling onto a couch.

"You wish," Antares smirked. "None of that anymore now that daddy came to keep an eye on his little girl. He probably got wind that everyone thinks you're a slut."

"Right, and you think Hermione won't tell our father every time you or I step a toe out of line?" Vega snapped at her brother. That shut him up.

They all let out a unanimous groan. This was going to be one hell of a year.

**Author's Notes. : )**

**Okay, so a few things to say about this first chapter. I'm not sure if Sirius' parents were necessarily **_**first**_** cousins, but they were both Blacks before they got married. Incest was big in pureblood families. Yes, I know it's gross! So if that ends up in my reviews…I might get irritated. I'm being realistic here. Everyone in the Harry Potter series is related, I swear. Except for maybe the Muggleborns. **

**Blah, blah, blah. Adam and Eve and all those shenanigans. So just don't get uppity about the mentioned semi-incestuous stuff. You're allowed to marry your second cousin. I don't even know if I'll take that issue any further.**

**Clarification:  
>Vega and Antares are Sirius Black's children. He would be about 43ish when he had his kids, and as my father had a child at 43, I know it's possible. His wife is younger than he is. If you want, I can do an aside chapter on their relationship. I have it in my head.<strong>

**Gemini is the bastard child of Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy after Draco's marriage with Astoria terminated. Technically, the divorce hadn't fully filed yet when she was conceived, but it was in the works.**

**This story will be about Draco and Hermione as well as their children.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Me no owny Harry Potter. : )**

Draco didn't get a chance to go after his children, but he suspected they, along with their eclectic group of friends, were headed to the Room of Requirement. None of them were stupid, so he figured they had worked out a way to make sure no one could get in that they didn't want.

Immediately after the Welcome Feast, he approached Granger. Or was it Weasley? He was confused about that, but that wasn't the issue at hand. "Oi, Gr-W-Hermione," Draco finally sighed. They were adults now, weren't they? "Did you know about our children?" he demanded.

"I am aware of the existence of our individual offspring," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "I believe we each have two, though both of mine were conceived in wedlock," she added, looking up at Malfoy expectantly.

"Yes, yes, you're quite the saint. I was inquiring as to your knowledge of the relationship Scorpius and Rose seem to be involved in," Draco said with exaggerated courtesy.

"Yes, Scorpius comes to our house quite often," Hermione said, almost smugly. "They've been dating for nearly two years now. Don't tell me you're just now finding out about it," she laughed. "If I understand correctly, they're quite serious about one another."

"Are they?" Draco choked out, turning redder by the moment. "How serious? Not marriage, surely."

"It may eventually head in that direction, but Rose has a firm head on her shoulders. She wouldn't marry so young anyway," Hermione added, a bit of disdain seeping into her voice. "I wonder why Scorpius decided not to tell you. He probably figured you'd react something like this."

"I-I-" Draco spluttered indignantly. "It's only because I-because Scorpius hasn't told me!" Draco argued. "And now they've all run off to the Room of Requirement, no doubt. You didn't tell your kids, did you?" he asked, clearly amused.

"Of course not. They would have begged me all summer not to come here. I can't say I blame them, actually. But…it's a good job, and I've always wanted to be a teacher here," Hermione shrugged. Plus, it was rather far away from Ronald right now, and he needed time to move out of their home without her around. She wouldn't tell _Malfoy_ all of that, though.

"Is it weird for you seeing your kids at the school?" Draco asked, shaking his head. "It's like…it's like I'm worried they might be too much like me. Or Gemini. God forbid she's anything like her mother," he muttered, rubbing his head.

"Leave them be," Hermione suggested. "Your kids will resent you if you give them the impression you came here to keep an eye on them. That's not why you came here, is it?" she asked, severely.

"My reasons for coming here are none of your concern, Granger." With that, Draco spun on his heel and stalked towards the Dungeons where his own personal quarters were, conveniently close to the Potions classroom he would be spending quite a bit of time in with class and preparations.

The rest of the night passed rather uneventfully, though many students (namely those related to the new Professors) had a very difficult time going to sleep. With your father, mother, aunt, or uncle breathing down your neck, it was going to be impossible to have a lick of fun.

"I'm going to kill my father," Gemini muttered mutinously to Vega. "Who does he think he is, just traipsing in here-"

"Stop freaking out, Gem," Vega requested tiredly. "It sucks, we know. You've told us-"

"About a million times," Antares confirmed. "It's getting stale already."

"Oh, shove it!" Gemini suggested as they headed in the direction of Potions, dragging her feet peevishly. "It would be nice if you could have a little sympathy every once in a while, Anty."

"Call me that again, and your life will get worse," he promised. "It's not that we don't agree that it's awful-"

"It's just we don't want to keep talking about it," Vega finished for her brother, smiling a little at Gemini. Vega linked her arm through Gemini's. "Besides, you can always filch the Marauder's Map for a bit and sneak out," she assured her friend, soothing the overdramatic girl a tad.

"You're right," Gemini conceded after a moment more of pouting. With a sigh, she went into the Potions classroom and sat down next to her potion's partner since second year and occasional snogging buddy since fourth, Aeryk Zabini. "How're you?" she inquired.

"Pretty decent, actually," Aeryk shrugged. He looked around the room. "And you? Are you freaking out about your dad being here?"

"Of course," Gemini agreed. "I won't be able to do anything with him here!" she sighed. At least he was someone new to complain to. She pressed her lips together to keep from practically screaming in frustration.

"Well, we could always use a broom cupboard," he half-teased.

"That seems suspiciously unrelated to Potions, Mr. Zabini," Draco said as he walked to the front of the room. "Five points from Slytherin." Zabini looked up abruptly and scooted a few inches away from Gemini.

The irate girl turned to give Vega an angry look. "I told you," she mouthed. She turned to look at her dad, giving him a look of the utmost loathing.

"I'll be reassigning your Potions partners," Draco announced. Did the Aeryk kid _think_ that Draco couldn't clearly see the way his hand rested on his daughter's knee? He clenched his hands into fists and forced himself to take a few deep breaths, Granger's words echoing in his head.

He wasn't supposed to try and control them, but Merlin. All the staff was whispering behind Draco's back and none too quietly. His own daughter was regarded as a-a whore! A Malfoy! Apparently she didn't understand what it meant to be of that name. It was almost as mortifying as when she was on her time of the month and running around the house bitching about it.

"Black," he began, and both Vega and Antares looked up. "Female Black," he clarified. He honestly didn't know their names, had never bothered to find out. "Switch with Gemini," he told her. He walked up and down the aisles, switching people at random.

Gemini regarded Antares with a sneer and moved her seat to the extreme edge.

"Try not to botch our potions," Antares requested, flipping open his book to the page written on the chalk board in front of them.

"Or you could fuck yourself," Gemini suggested peevishly.

"Language," Draco chastised, "another five points." Gemini spluttered indignantly, and Antares laughed quietly.

"I don't know what your problem is, Malfoy," he laughed again, "your dad seems just fine-" he cut off when she hit him upside the back of the head.

"Will you two stop it?" Vega demanded, turning around briefly. "We're all friends."

"No," Antares corrected, "I'm your twin, and she's your friend. Difference," he enunciated carefully. Vega rolled her grayish blue eyes in response and went back to working with Zabini. The young man didn't look disappointed in his partner, and his eyes kept sliding over to her. Gemini was very close to screaming _Traitor!_

Their little section of the room fell into an uncomfortable silence as the rest of the class chatted animatedly, as if nothing was wrong. As if the entire universe wasn't collapsing around them!

Well, maybe Gemini had taken a bit of her mother's proclivity for the dramatic with her, but still! She began chopping roots quickly, carelessly, dropping them into the cauldron-

"Idiot!" Antares accused in a hiss. "Can you read?" he demanded. "Those go in later." Gemini rolled her eyes and watched as Antares began to quickly go to the potion's cabinet and find as many ingredients as he needed, trying to salvage the damage Gemini had apparently done.

"Here, you can crush this beetle since you're the one that screwed it up," Antares suggested, and Gemini flushed uncomfortably, her face turning an ugly mottled color as she began crushing the bug with more force than strictly necessary.

"Thank you," he hissed in a tone that very clearly conveyed loathing rather than gratitude. He dumped the contents into the cauldron and sighed in relief as it slowly righted itself to the correct shade of chartreuse. Gemini's face began to slowly return to its normal color, and she allowed Antares to finish the potion without her interference which suited him just fine.

Draco went back to his desk and dropped his head into his hands with a heavy sigh as the students worked. He rubbed his temples, trying not to lose his ever living mind. Oh, sweet Merlin, what had he done to deserve this? Oh, yeah. But what was he going to do? He stopped to consider, now, Scorpius' relationship with Rose. Was it so bad, really? Well, in terms of power, the union could be very good for the Malfoy name-

No! He came here to stop thinking constantly in terms of _the Malfoy Name_, and this line of reasoning certainly wasn't going to help him with that. He just didn't understand how Scorpius could date someone for two years, be serious about her, and still not tell Draco, even once. Then again, when had Scorpius ever done anything bold-faced rebellious? Apparently, he was sneakier than Draco had given him credit for. Yeah, he got that from his mum, most definitely.

Maybe he should suck up his pride and talk to Granger about this. The thought made his stomach churn uncomfortably. When would he go to _her_ for help? But she had known about Scorpius and Rose. She was dealing with seeing her children at Hogwarts too. Maybe this evening he would try and broach some sort of conversation on the subject.

After class, Gemini hung around without direction.

"How do you stand her?" Antares asked Vega in frustration. "She must have paid her way into NEWT potions."

"Mmm, class isn't her thing, I guess," Vega shrugged, hesitant to get into this with Antares. "Just lay off. She's having a hard time-"

"Right, right. She's got daddy-problems or something," Antares interjected. "I'll try and keep that in mind next time she's sabotaging my grade. I swear it's probably intentional."

"You're as dramatic as dad."

Gemini sat on a desk in the front, crossing her arms, and glaring at Draco. "Any reason you didn't tell Scorpius and I you would be here?" she demanded.

"Surprise," Draco said dryly, arching his eyebrows. "Any reason you didn't tell me about your friends?"

"Yes." Silence hung in the air for nearly a minute. "I can't believe you're doing this."

"Despite what you might think, Pansy, this isn't about you," Draco spat. "So stop being dramatic."

"I see. Firstly, my name isn't Pansy. You saddled me with the ridiculous name Gemini, so thanks for that," she hissed.

"You're acting an awful lot like your mother," Draco said indignantly. "She was just like-"

"Just like what?" Gemini snapped, hands on her hips. "You think I'm being overly dramatic? Well, my _father_ has gotten a job at my school and just ran off one of the few guys that I actually like being around, so sorry for being upset."

"Well-"

"I'm not done!" Gemini snapped, hands on her hips. "And maybe I am like my mother, but is that any worse than being like my father?"

"You will not speak to me this way," Draco said severely. "I can't ground you here, but I can make your life a lot harder than it has to be."

"J-just-ugh!" she exclaimed wordlessly, kicking a desk hard.

"We have a few things to talk about. Firstly, what you came into school wearing was inappropriate. Overtly so," Draco began, shaking his head. "The rumors of your promiscuity are rampant around the school. That needs to stop."

"So you think I'm a dramatic slut now?" his daughter demanded.

"That's what everyone else thinks," Draco corrected harshly. "I'm not sure what to believe."

"Well, you could ask." She narrowed her eyes. "Have you bought me a chastity belt yet?"

"I'd say that's a moot point by now," he rolled his eyes. Gemini groaned indignantly, throwing her hands in the air and storming off.

After first period, Scorpius met Rose outside of her Charms class, slinging an arm over her shoulders and kissing the top of her head once. "Ready for History?" he asked, tugging one of her curls playfully. Rose ran her hand through her frizzy hair impatiently.

"Sure, thing," Rose agreed, sighing. "It's not going to be as bad as Potions tomorrow."

"At least we don't have it together," Scorpius offered, shrugging. "That would be a bit worse. Just don't let him intimidate you, alright?" he requested.

"Ha," Rose snorted. "Not a chance in hell. I didn't let you intimidate me, did I?"

"No, you did not. I liked that about you," Scorpius admitted. "I'll try and talk to him tonight, so he'll leave you alone-" Rose's eyes flashed.

"I don't need you to take care of me," she told him severely. "I can deal with your father. What's he going to do, anyway?"

"I didn't say you needed it, but I kind of like to occasionally," Scorpius defended, holding up his hands in mock-surrender. "Calm down," he requested. "And he won't _do_ anything, but he could say some pretty awful stuff if he wanted," Scorpius told her with a sigh.

"I hate when you tell me to calm down," Rose said mutinously, crossing her arms and ducking out from underneath his arm. Scorpius sighed and stopped outside the History of Magic room, pulling her to a stop too.

"You do not," Scorpius said petulantly. "You told me just last week that you liked that I could keep you from freaking out."

"Yes, but you also drive me absolutely spare, Scorpius," Rose sighed. "But I won't break up with you. I've tried that a couple times, but-"

"I'm persistent, and you kind of like me," he supplied, pulling her close and kissing her, one arm snaking around her waist.

"Kind of," she agreed between kisses. Scorpius pulled away when there was a little tap on his shoulder.

"Class starts soon," Hermione told them, giving Scorpius a glare. Rose flushed bright red right to the roots of her hair and entered the room, taking a seat at the front. Scorpius too blushed, and it was that much more obvious against his pale skin as he made his way to sit with Rose.

"So what happened to Binns?" a Hufflepuff asked Hermione as she went to the front of the room.

"Professor Binns still lives in this school, but he requested taking some time off for the next decade or so for whatever personal reasons he may have," she explained crisply. "So, we're going to start today with the Goblin Rebellions of 1843."

"Kill me," Rose requested of Scorpius quietly while her mother turned to write on the board.

"Not a chance, babe." Scorpius pulled out a sheet of parchment, though he had absolutely no intention of taking notes. He would just study the bloody book later. This was one class he honestly didn't give a rat's ass about. And _of course_ his girlfriend's mum was teaching the subject, so he had to act like he cared at least a little bit.

_When do you have your free periods?_ He scribbled across the top and tapped it twice with his quill to catch Rose's attention.

_I have one after lunch today and then another first tomorrow morning_,she penned across the top of her own paper.

_After lunch we have a free period together, then_. Rose grinned at that and nudged him lightly with her knee. _You think you're going to put out for me?_ It had become a bit of a joke, because Scorpius had asked and begged for sex more times than he could help. Yes, it was pathetic. Yes, it was true.

_Maybe, do you think you have three little words for me?_

Scorpius gave Rose a withering glance. As if he didn't show that he loved her all the time, but no…he hadn't said it, therefore he couldn't possibly mean it. Well, whether he meant it or not was irrelevant now. It was a bit of a challenge, and he didn't want to give in until he was absolutely positive that he meant every word sincerely. And he couldn't do that right now, and whether he wanted to admit it or not, he wanted his father's approval before he went that's far.

_You look nice_, he offered, smirking as she rolled her eyes. _There's three words, and they're all little._

_You know what I mean, git_. Scorpius put a hand to his heart when he read that, but otherwise didn't reply because Professor Granger had just given them a glare. Oh, that's right. He needed to talk to Rose about _that_ too. Why Granger? Was there a separation going on? If so, why hadn't she told him?

"So when's your other free period?" Rose asked as they left the classroom at least ten hours later.

"Now," Scorpius laughed once. "I have both of mine in one day," he complained. "I don't know how that worked out. We signed up for mostly the same classes. You picked Care of Magical Creatures and I stuck with Arithmancy, though."

"Ugh, you're a brave man. I hate Arithmancy. It's hellacious; I don't know how you can put up with it. I thought I'd be so clever if I took it one year and…ugh," Rose shuddered. Numbers were never going to be her thing.

"It's required in order to be a Curse Breaker," Scorpius shrugged, and Rose nodded. She too had considered the field, but had decided the Department for Magical Law Enforcement was what she wanted to pursue. Actually, Rose was a strong supporter for the destruction of the statute of secrecy, but that was for another time…

At the end of the day, Draco swallowed his pride and made his way to the History of Magic classroom where Hermione was _of course_ reading some huge novel. He pulled a chair from one of the desks and sat in front of her, waiting expectantly for her to acknowledge him.

Hermione held up a finger, indicating she planned on finishing her page before talking to him. "What do you want, Professor?" she asked, apparently avoiding any sense of familiarity now.

"I want to know about whatever my kids are up to," Draco admitted, sighing. "What's going on with Scorpius and Rose?" he asked.

"We've gone over this. Our eldest children are dating each other," Hermione sighed, closing her book. "Trust me; I wasn't happy about it when I found out either. You have to understand that it's nothing against Scorpius. I actually like him, but I don't want Rose tangled with the Malfoys," she told Draco bluntly.

Draco stiffened. "I suppose we don't have the best reputation." Hermione got up and went to a shelf full of dusty old books, looking through a few of the other ones and pulling out several. She let them fall onto her desk in front of them. "Leaf through these. Here's an exclusive book about the Malfoys by Reeta Skeeter-" she pushed one to him. "The rest have sections devoted to your family."

"Don't be like that, Granger. It's the past, isn't it? Wasn't the point of the war to end discrimination on who your family is?" Draco demanded peevishly. "Besides, if you want to hear the real story some time…" he trailed off.

"Would you tell me the truth, then?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"Only if you'll agree to tell me stuff about Scorpius and Gemini. I've missed some of their life, apparently, and Meriln knows they won't tell me anything," he offered, figuring it was a fair enough deal. She was curious by nature, of course.

"I would very much like to hear the Malfoy side of the story," she admitted, looking down at her desk where a Muggle spiral-bound notebook sat with her own notes. She was writing a memoir in her spare time, and her own depiction of Malfoy and his family was biased at best. She wouldn't mind knowing more about that.

"Then it's a date," Draco agreed. "We should set aside some time each week," he offered, wearily.

"Sure," Hermione agreed. She watched him carefully, almost pitying how distressed he looked. Apparently he was more concerned with his family than she had given him credit for. She had assumed that because he didn't know about his children, he didn't care, and it didn't seem to be the case.

**Thanks for reading, guys. : ) I love anyone that reads, but ya'll are killing me! I've gotten quite a few Story Alerts/Favorites, but no one is reviewing. Please, please, please? Nothing would make me happier than reviews.**

**Love,**

**Cunning and Ambition**


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All rights to the wonderful Ms Rowling_.

"You look awful," Vega told Gemini as she looked up from her book. Gemini opened her eyes, not realizing she had dozed off until that moment.

"Thanks," Gemini muttered. "Fantastic. It might have something to do with the fact that my dad's been here three weeks, and I can't remember the last time I got more than five hours of sleep in a night."

"Quidditch?" Vega asked absently, placing her finger on her spot in the Transfiguration book before looking back to Gemini, arching a brow.

"Well, dad told me he was going to take me off the team if I didn't start getting better reports from my teachers," Gemini explained, shrugging a bit and trying to keep her anger on the matter in check. Getting upset wasn't going to get her better grades. Between that and the constant Quidditch practices to get her team in shape to go up against Ravenclaw, Gemini didn't sleep much.

"Well, what's Scorpius' excuse then?" Lily demanded as she dropped down into a seat, seemingly out of no where. Vega was sure she had seen the tell-tale glimmer of the Invisibility Cloak. "He was helping me in the common room with Potions last night, and he fell asleep in the middle of a conversation, I swear." Merlin only knew how sweet Lily Potter had ended up in Slytherin and her brothers both in Gryffindor.

"Dealing with Rose constantly must be exhausting," Gemini muttered mutinously under her breath. Lily sighed, rolling her eyes at Gemini. Honestly, though, Lily was well aware at how taxing Rose could be in her moods, and she _was _a little rude to Gemini.

"I'm serious, though. You look really pale-"

Gemini interrupted Vega, "I'm a Malfoy. By definition, I _have_ to be pale," she laughed, though she really was starting to feel a little sick. Even when she was able to sleep, she was lying awake, either much too hot or much too cold.

"So," Lily began, grinning a bit. "Rumor has it, Victoire and Teddy are on the rocks." Lily loved both Victoire and Teddy, but she had always been a bit disturbed by their relationship. Victoire was just so clingy to someone Lily had come to consider an older brother. It just didn't seem fair to Teddy sometimes.

Vega shrugged. "They're always on the rocks. I think they like fighting with each other," she added. When she ducked her head to look at her book again, though, Lily caught the tell-tale smile.

"You're sweating," Lily told Gemini suddenly. "You look awful. Seriously, I think you should go to the Hospital Wing."

"Stop. I'm fine," Gemini muttered, underlining a passage in her book, looking up when Vega waved to someone at the door. Great, she did _not_ want to deal with Antares when she was already quite sure she was going to throw up. Antares walked over, pulling up a chair and sitting down heavily.

"You look like shit," he told Gemini. She shot him a withering glance, but otherwise refused to respond to the jab. She felt like shit. She couldn't focus her eyes on the words on the page. When she stood, it was on trembling legs. And, not a moment later, she collapsed, hand grasping her arm in pain.

"Jesus!" Antares exclaimed. "She's bleeding," he added, nodding towards her forearm, where blood was seeping through the sleeve. He crouched down a little to look at her better, Lily and Vega right behind him. He picked her up in a quick motion, one arm under her knees, the other behind her back. She was unconscious now, and he was vaguely aware that as her head lolled on his arm, blood stained his shirt there too.

"What the hell is going on?" Antares demanded as he walked briskly towards the hospital wing, eyes falling on several other groups, escorting unconscious friends to the hospital wing. Scorpius was likewise unconscious, and, to immense surprise, Professor Malfoy was being escorted in by two of his coworkers.

Pomfrey was in a panic, of course, as five unconscious bodies were deposited onto beds, everyone around them talking in a flurry, but all the stories similar. Then, as if controlled by a puppet-master, each of the prone forms arched, as if lifted by an invisible string attached to their chests, then bolted upright, awake again.

Draco was out of bed first, immediately between the beds with Gemini and Scorpius in them. He winced suddenly, as if taking a while to feel the pain that was evident. He ignored it now, though, immediately tugging up the sleeve of Gemini's white oxford where the blood was flowing most visibly from.

What he saw nearly made him throw up. As if with a knife and shaking hand, but unmistakable, the Dark Mark had been carved into her arm. A quick yank on Scorpius' sleeve revealed the same thing. His eldest was just coherent enough to gape down at his forearm, shaking his head.

He looked at his own arm. Where his own Dark Mark had faded to only a scar, it was now jet black and bleeding profusely. His put his hand to it, hoping to stem the bleeding. He turned to Scorpius now, talking quickly. "Do you have any idea what's happening, Scorpius?" he asked urgently, eyes hard. "If this is some sort of-"

"I haven't a clue," Scorpius said with the same even tone. "Do you?" he asked, an accusing tone coming into his voice as he assessed his father. Draco watched his son for a long time.

"Of course not, Scorpius," Draco sighed. He got up, too distracted by his own thoughts to realize what was going on around him. Too bloody wigged out to so much as notice his daughter crying. What the hell did all of this mean?

"Gemini, come on-" Vega tried, touching Gem's shoulder. "D-don't cry."

"I-my neck hurts," she muttered. She pulled her hair away to let Antares, who had already leaned around, get a better look.

"I-it says...blood calls to blood," he whispered. The cuts looked they had been cauterized. Vaguely reminiscent of the way Harry had described the scars left by Umbridge's quills. He wiped the trickle of red fluid away. Scorpius and Draco both found identical markings. He pulled her bloody hair back down over it, gently as if he might trigger another incident.

"W-what does that mean?" Gemini asked, sobbing now. "I-I didn't put it there," she swore, looking at Vega. "You believe me, don't you?"

"Of course, Gem. I think I would have noticed if my best friend had been carving a Dark Mark into her arm with a steak knife," she tried to tease, but it didn't stop the girl's trembling. "C'mon, get yourself together-Antares!" Vega snapped, hitting her brother's arm. Antares ignored her when he grabbed Gemini by the chin.

"Listen, Malfoy," he said intently. "We've never gotten along, that's no secret. I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, Gemini. You can take your freaky Dark Magic shit, and you can-" He cut off when Gemini spit in his face.

"Get your hands off of her," Scorpius snarled, suddenly behind him. He grabbed Antares by the shoulder, forcefully turned him and punched him across the face. He was taller than Antares, but he hadn't been trained by Quidditch for the last four years, so it was good he got in the first punch, because it wasn't going to be easy to get in another one.

The friends that had escorted Scorpius into the Hospital Wing after his collapse now pulled him off of Antares, the bulkier one holding Antares back. Before anyone could move again, though, Gemini had launched herself off the bed and tackled Antares to the ground, attacking him in a flurry of anger.

"Stupid bitch," Antares snarled, pinning her to the ground, in time to be lifted by the back of the shirt by Draco.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor. And if you _ever_ speak to or touch my daughter in such a manner again, you'll loose more than house points, Antares," Draco spat, taking Gemini's hand and pulling her off the ground.

"Antares," Vega chastised. "You're the one that carried her here-"

"That was before I knew your best friend was a sodding Death Eater," Antares snarled, glaring at everyone in the room, including Hermione who was giving him a reproachful glance.

"Stop it!" Hermione shouted. "All of you, stop squabbling when there are more important things happening, clearly. Antares, get out of there if you can't control yourself. You're acting immature."

Antares was out the door, and Gemini was right on his heels, following him despite the protests of her father, brother, and Vega. She grabbed him by the wrist before he could get far, but at least out of ear shot. "Antares."

Antares wrenched his arm out of Gemini's grip angrily. "What?"

"I thought we were friends," Gemini admitted. "You've been helping me in Defense, and-"

"I didn't do that because we're friends. I did that to shut Vega up," Antares shrugged, glaring at her. "You're not going to fool me with your fake tears."

"I didn't do this. I don't know what's happening, but it wasn't something I asked for or expected," Gemini insisted. "And if you go around saying shit like that, I'm going to seriously be in trouble. They'll believe you over me. Your father was a war hero, and mine-"

"Was a traitorous, lying, cowardly Death Eater, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, eh?" Antares suggested. "If the Headmaster has any sense, he'll send you, your brother, and your father far away from Hogwarts before you can try and resurrect Voldemort."

Gemini flinched at the malice in his words. She couldn'tunderstand how _anyone_ could possibly think she was supporting anything dark. Hadn't he known her for seven years? What if Vega bought into what he was saying?

"You're going to stay away from Vega. You're going to stay away from the Weasleys and the Potters. They're my family, and I won't have you and your hypocritical, lying, blood-crazed family hurt any of them." Antares' words were slow and purposeful, no room for argument.

"Don't talk about my family like that," Gemini muttered, though the venom had been sapped from her voice, replaced by a tired resignation. "Hermione's been more of a mother to me than anyone. Vega's my best friend. Lily's like a little sister. I, quite honestly, thought we were close too, despite our arguments. I-I can't give all of that up because I've been drug into something crazy."

Antares sighed when tears welled in her eyes. She was scared. "Gemini, you understand why I don't know how much I trust that. The Malfoys tend to ingratiate themselves with whatever's going to serve their purposes the most efficiently."

"You could help me," Gemini said, suddenly. "You're smart enough, and-"

"Go on. Inflate my ego more, and I might actually be tempted to help," Antares smirked. He looked at her hard for a long moment. He couldn't explain why, but the surge of hatred was gone. He was suspicious. He would be stupid not to be, but he wasn't particularly inflamed. Besides, if she wanted to suggest him help, either she was bluffing or she was seriously upset. If it was the former, Antares could call her on it and find out exactly _what_ she and her family were up to. If it was the latter, well, he was a Gryffindor and chivalry was in his nature. "Fine. But you're going to have to brave-up, if we're going to find anything out. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't morbidly curious as to what's going on. And something tells me having a little Death Eater at my disposal might be of help. We won't be sitting in a library," he warned.

Meanwhile, Hermione was conversing in her office with Draco in hushed tones despite the silencing charm. "Can I look at it? The Dark Mark?" she asked him hesitantly.

Draco paused, taken aback. She wanted to look at the hideous thing? Honestly, that woman never failed to take Draco by surprise. He examined her for a long moment, thinking it over before shrugging. "Sure, I guess," he muttered. He rolled back his sleeve for her, eyebrows lifted in curiosity as he examined Hermione's careful consideration of the mark.

He winced when she touched it though. "Don't do that," he requested. It was tender as it had been the first day after he had gotten it. Plus, there was something deeply personal about it (pleasant or not) and letting someone else touch it was just fundamentally wrong somehow.

"Sorry," Hermione apologized immediately. She took out a piece of parchment and began scribbling furious notes while looking at the tattoo underneath and the thing cuts that seemed to have been traced over it, careful not to touch it again. "It would be easier if the blood wasn't still on it," she told him matter-of-factly. She handed him a rag and dipped it in a goblet she filled with water with a quick tap of her wand. Instead of attempting to clean the wound, Hermione simply handed the rag to Draco.

"Thanks," he muttered, wiping his alabaster skin clean of the crimson blood, looking at the Dark Mark. "You almost couldn't see it anymore. I don't understand what could have happened. There's not a chance that the Dark Lord could have...resurrected."

"People said that when he came back last time," Hermione reminded him gently. "This is very crude Dark Magic," she noted, looking at the jagged cuts. "Voldemort...despite his absolute horrid nature...well, his magic always had a bit of elegance about it. The Dark Mark, for example. Intricate and binding in itself. This doesn't look like something he would do," Hermione murmured. She shook her head, eyebrows knitting together in confusions. "I'm going to the library," she sighed, taking her notes and standing. "You'll be alright?"

Draco laughed and rolled his eyes. "I'm a big boy, Granger. I can take care of myself."

"I'm more worried about your children," Hermione sighed, pulling her fingers through that ever-frizzy, almost endearing, possibly sentient hair of hers. Draco quirked a smile. Bushy haired Granger was off to the library to solve another mystery.

"It's almost like we're back in school again," Draco mused. He scratched at his arm absently, watching her leave curiously. Apparently, he owed her a bit. She seemed to have taken better care of his children than he had. Flushing in embarrassment at the thought, Draco left the room and went to his own quarters.

_So, this chapter took on an entirely different feel, so I hope you can all forgive me for taking so god damn long on it. _

_I would like to note that thirty years ago today, Lily and James Potter gave up their lives. To Harry Potter, the boy who lived!_

_Read and Review._


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